SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Tuesday - December 01, 2020

Tuesday - December 01, 2020

“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.”

― Mother Teresa

December 1, 2020 

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
Lectionary: 176

 

Reading 1                             IS 11:1-10

On that day,

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:

a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

A Spirit of counsel and of strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,

and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Not by appearance shall he judge,

nor by hearsay shall he decide,

But he shall judge the poor with justice,

and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Justice shall be the band around his waist,

and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

 

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

The calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,

together their young shall rest;

the lion shall eat hay like the ox.

The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,

as water covers the sea.

 

On that day,

The root of Jesse,

set up as a signal for the nations,

The Gentiles shall seek out,

for his dwelling shall be glorious.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

R. (see 7)  Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

and with your justice, the king’s son;

He shall govern your people with justice

and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

Justice shall flower in his days,

and profound peace, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,

and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.

He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;

the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

May his name be blessed forever;

as long as the sun his name shall remain.

In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;

all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

Alleluia                                                                                             

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;

he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                                               LK 10:21-24

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,

“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,

and who the Father is except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

 

Turning to the disciples in private he said,

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I say to you,

many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,

but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

 

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New Growth in Faith

Name your stump. Today's first reading contains that often-quoted, sometimes sung prophecy in Isaiah about the coming of the Messiah, a new branch growing from the dead stump of the tree of Jesse. Jesse was the great King David's father. Out of this family tree, Jesus was born.

 

The tree of Jesse was a healthy, fruitful family because of their faith in God, which inspired them to be good servants of his kingdom. David became a servant-king 1,100 years before the human birth of Jesus. His reign was strong and branched out into the whole nation of Israel.

 

During much of his son Solomon's reign, the tree continued to flourish, but then it became diseased. Israel cracked in two, divided and weakened by a civil war after Solomon's death. Foreign enemies came and cut down the tree, taking the Israelites into captivity. The Jews never again had a king as great as David.

 

Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised that the tree of Jesse would spring back to life. In the midst of suffering and loss, God was offering a reason for hope based on faith in him. Think of a chopped-down tree in your own life. What relationship has been cut off? What ministry has died? Has a job been axed? Has a dream withered? Name your stump.

 

The Jews thought that when the new shoot finally grew from the stump of Jesse's tree, it would be a new king like David and he would rescue them from their human enemies. Of course, we know that Jesus was the Messiah that Isaiah had prophesied, and he was quite a different sort of king.

 

The branch of Christ grew into Christianity and its many branches of Christ-rooted ministries. Jesus rescued us from the spiritual enemy and its weapons of sin. Faith-filled followers serve God's kingdom, producing many good fruits.

 

Now think of your own tree stump. If we watch for our stumps to come back to life and grow the same old tree, we will fail to see our Messiah.

 

A cut-off relationship cannot be restored unless Christ becomes the center of it and each person's heart is converted and healed from the cut.

 

A dead ministry will take new shape only when Jesus resurrects it; the roots will be the same, but the new growth will be surprisingly different.

 

Christ's life is springing forth from the axed job as he points the way down a path that will glorify God. The withered dream will pass through the cross of Christ to be resurrected into a glorified new goal that will be empowered by a Pentecost of the Holy Spirit.

 

When we allow Isaiah's prophecy to come true for us in our current situations, we hear Jesus say, as we read in today's Gospel passage, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!"

 

Do you have faith to see? Fertilize your tree stump by increasing your prayer time, scripture reading, other spiritual reading, and participation in parish programs. Jesus himself is the new growth that will be born in you, but you have to nurture your soil.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank you, my Lord, for coming out to meet me and revealing to me my Father's love. Keep my heart from pride, so that I always feel my need for You. Amen.    

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - November 30, 2020

Monday - November 30, 2020

Perfect love leads a man on to perfect fear. Such a man fears and keeps to God's will, not from fear of punishment, not to avoid condemnation, but because he has tasted the sweetness of being with God; he fears he may fall away from it.

-- St. Dorotheos of Gaza

November 30, 2020

 

Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Lectionary: 684

 

Reading 1                             ROM 10:9-18

Brothers and sisters:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For one believes with the heart and so is justified,

and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

The Scripture says,

No one who believes in him will be put to shame.

There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;

the same Lord is Lord of all,

enriching all who call upon him.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

 

 

But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone to preach?

And how can people preach unless they are sent?

As it is written,

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!

But not everyone has heeded the good news;

for Isaiah says,

Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?

Thus faith comes from what is heard,

and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

But I ask, did they not hear?

Certainly they did; for

 

Their voice has gone forth to all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (10)  The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. (John 6:63)  Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul;

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

The command of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eye.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

The ordinances of the LORD are true,

all of them just.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

They are more precious than gold,

than a heap of purest gold;

Sweeter also than syrup

or honey from the comb.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

or:

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

Alleluia                                                                                              PS 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;

and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                                               MT 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,

casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.

He said to them,

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

At once they left their nets and followed him.

He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,

James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.

He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father

and followed him.

 

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A Decisive Response

Introductory Prayer: Dear Jesus, I believe that you have called me to follow you more closely today. I trust that in this prayer, you will help me see the concrete implications of following your will. I love you and want to respond to all that you ask of me, today and always. Thank you for watching over me and guiding me home to heaven.

Petition: Make me a fisher of men, here and now, Lord!

1. As Jesus Walked By: One summer afternoon a priest just happened to be in the area and visited my home. Within three years, two of my brothers and I were following Christ on the road to the priesthood. Jesus didn’t just happen to walk by these two pairs of brothers! He had every intention of inviting those brothers to become “fishers of men.” How much happens in my life, prepared and intended by God, to help me follow him more closely? And all I see is an accident, a coincidence? Ask him when was the last time he just happened by.

2. At Once They Followed Him: Jesus never calls someone when it’s perfectly convenient, when that person has nothing better to do. No, he calls precisely when we are in the middle of living our lives, doing what we do best, what we do most, “casting or mending our nets.” “What a losing formula!” we are tempted to conclude. Yet what is it he wants of us when he calls? He wants a response -- a reply of love. Love is all about preference and priority. If I love him more than myself, I can follow him “at once.” If I prefer him over my activities and life, I can follow him “immediately.” What is the response of love I am giving or want to give Jesus today in my life?

3. They Left Something Behind: “Pro-choice:” That’s what God is! He wants us to choose. But he is not indifferent about what we choose. Every choice implies the rejection of other options. We cannot follow someone somewhere without leaving something and someone else behind. Peter and Andrew left their nets behind. James and John left their boat and their father behind. This was possible only with Jesus before them. Yet we, too, often try to follow Christ without leaving things and others behind: the world, comforts, my preferences... We think that we can have it all. We can’t. We are in danger of “taming our faith,” bending to the demands of our passions and the world’s insistence. Love requires a choice, a choice for the real, complete Jesus. It asks me to reject everything in me that is not him. How wholehearted is my following of Christ?

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have called me and continue to call me throughout this day. Help me to respond with love, a love that trumps all my other loves, likes and desires. I don’t want you to have to wait for me, Lord. Just show me what you want and give me the courage and generosity to give it to you, no matter the cost.

Resolution: I will give up something today that diminishes the attention that I give to my spouse, family or friends.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : First Sunday of Advent - November 29, 2020

Sunday - November 29, 2020

"Avoid idleness and idle people; carry out your duties. Whenever you are idle you are in serious danger of falling into sin, because idleness teaches us all kinds of vice."

- St. Don Bosco

November 29, 2020

 

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 507

 

Reading 1                             IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,

our redeemer you are named forever.

Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,

and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your heritage.

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

with the mountains quaking before you,

while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,

such as they had not heard of from of old.

No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you

doing such deeds for those who wait for him.

Would that you might meet us doing right,

that we were mindful of you in our ways!

Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;

all of us have become like unclean people,

all our good deeds are like polluted rags;

we have all withered like leaves,

and our guilt carries us away like the wind.

There is none who calls upon your name,

who rouses himself to cling to you;

for you have hidden your face from us

and have delivered us up to our guilt.

Yet, O LORD, you are our father;

we are the clay and you the potter:

we are all the work of your hands.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,

from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.

Rouse your power,

and come to save us.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,

look down from heaven, and see;

take care of this vine,

and protect what your right hand has planted

the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,

with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

Then we will no more withdraw from you;

give us new life, and we will call upon your name.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

 

Reading 2                             1 COR 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I give thanks to my God always on your account

for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,

that in him you were enriched in every way,

with all discourse and all knowledge,

as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,

so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift

as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will keep you firm to the end,

irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful,

and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                                              PS 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;

and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                                               MK 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Be watchful! Be alert!

You do not know when the time will come.

It is like a man traveling abroad.

He leaves home and places his servants in charge,

each with his own work,

and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.

Watch, therefore;

you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,

whether in the evening, or at midnight,

or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.

What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

 

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The Hope that Comes from Heaven 

Hope is the theme of the First Sunday of Advent. In the readings for Mass, Isaiah describes a future in which all is well because (1) God is recognized as the highest authority and (2) obeying him is the people's highest priority.

This vision gave great hope to the oppressed Israelites. Today if we look at this as a description of heaven, it gives great hope to us, too. When we die, "terms" will be "imposed" upon us because we did not stay entirely on the paths of God (a good reason for purgatory), but we will be living in the light of the Lord after death and there will be no more wars to battle.

Knowing that this is our future, we can look at our present trials as preparations for heaven. The weapons that we use now to defeat and overcome the powers of darkness can be used as plowshares for enriching our soil (our earthly life), bringing us into new growth and producing a harvest in ministry. Sufferings that are turned into ministries to help others make hardships very valuable.

Although Isaiah was speaking of the coming of the world's Messiah through the Jews, these verses remind us that when we respect God's authority and make imitating Christ our highest priority, all is well for us. Our battles against evil aren't over yet, but Jesus has already won the victory for us. Our hope is not based on a wish for peace; our hope comes from the reality of what Jesus has already done and what he will do. So, "let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!" (Psalm 122).

The Gospel reading tells us that our hope is realized only if we stay awake and alert to the activities of Christ. What are you despairing about? Despair and worry are merely distractions that make us forget that Christ has already won the battle. If we stay alert to the presence of Christ, recognizing his authority and following his ways, we live in hope -- not wishful thinking, but a hope that's based firmly on reality.

What are you despairing about? What would it take for you to feel hopeful? In what way do you need Jesus to come to you now? What can you do to become more aware of his presence at your side?

Today's Prayer:

My good Lord, may my deeds and my thoughts lead me closer and closer to You. Give me strength to not get distracted on this path and to be firm toward this goal. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”